


A Minor Case of Irrational Nyctophobia

by jemssims (morsly)



Series: Coffee Shop AU-verse [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: College AU, Established Relationship, F/M, Fitzsimmons in Pajamas, Fluff, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-02
Updated: 2015-11-02
Packaged: 2018-04-29 15:52:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5133361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morsly/pseuds/jemssims
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jemma decides that they've finally been dating long enough to show him one of her more interesting quirks.</p><p>//</p><p>A follow up to <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/4562643/chapters/10388280">The Impossible Journey of Finding Somewhere to Study.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	A Minor Case of Irrational Nyctophobia

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place a couple months after [The Impossible Journey of Finding Somewhere to Study.](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4562643/chapters/10388280) You don't need to have read that for this to make sense, but it gives background to their relationship, and I reference it a little. I hope you like it :)

It was 1 AM, all the lights were out, and Jemma was in her flannel pajamas with blankets pulled up to her chin.  That was when she heard it.  The noise.  The deep metallic one in the walls.  The terrifying could-be-someone-climbing-up-to-steal-the-tv or an-evil-robot-trying-to-kill-her noise.  Skye was out for the night, spending it with one of her boy toys, and the only thing Jemma had to defend herself were textbooks.  They could definitely do some damage, but they were across the room in her bookcase and on her desk.  She knew that the noise probably wouldn’t hurt her, but she’d never really been able to shake the memories of a terrible slumber party in primary school where cool, older girls had invited her over, only to tell ghost stories and spend all night making poor Jemma believe they were real.  It was embarrassing and not usually a problem, but Jemma Simmons was afraid of the dark.  The creepy, late-night noises of her apartment and the bottle of red she had with dinner didn’t help.

She reached out for her phone, grabbing it from her nightstand and turning down the brightness.  She dialed the number she knew by heart, even though he was the first contact in her phone, and hoped that he both would and would not answer.  They had been dating for a couple months, Leo Fitz and her, and it was going amazingly.  They had had a few more sweet kisses in the snow, and some more than kisses elsewhere.  Jemma had taken to doing a lot of her studying in the coffee shop, although she still had a hard time focusing with him working behind the counter.  He would do ridiculously distracting things like let a little bit of his back show when he was reaching for something or biting his lip when taking an order.  He wore the pretentious English major beanie almost every day, and that didn’t help either.  She honestly studied way better pressed up against him on a sofa, using the rise and fall of his chest to really focus.  Unfortunately, cuddling on the couch had the opposite effect for Fitz.  Her smell would hypnotize him into thinking about just her and not anything to do with mechanical engineering.  They had yet to come up with a studying compromise.  

He answered on the last ring.  “Hullo?”  His voice was thick with sleep.  Jemma mentally scolded herself.  She knew he had early morning lab.  But his voice sounding like that quickly distracted her from thinking about labs or scary noises.  

“Hi, I’m really sorry to wake you.”  She paused.  Did she really need her new engineering genius boyfriend to come check out the scary noise?  She would survive, right?  “Go back to bed.  It’s no big deal.”

“Wait, what’s going on?”  That sleepy voice.  She wanted to do things to that sleepy voice.  While they had slept together, they’d never slept over, and she couldn’t help but think about waking up to him and kissing that sleepy voice out of him.  Morning breath be damned.

“Nothing, it’s okay, just go back to sleep.  I”ll see you in the morning.”  She tried to sound cheery, and not like she’d just heard the sound louder than it was before.

“Well, I’m awake now.”  His voice did sound clearer.  She could picture him sitting up in bed, rubbing his hands over his face with his hair sticking out in different directions.  Maybe a pillow imprint on his cheek.  That image shouldn’t be hot.  It was.

“It’s stupid.  I shouldn’t have called.”  Being afraid of the dark and hearing a scary noise was a very ridiculous thing to call your boyfriend to come over and check out at 1 AM.  Especially when you yourself were so intellectually gifted.  You should know better.

“Jemma...”  The way he said her name, though...

“Um, there’s a noise here.”  She winced.  “That I was wondering if you’d check it out.”

“A noise?”

“Yes, just a noise, I know, but I’m a little panicky about it.  I told you it was stupid.  Please go back to bed.”

“And you want me to come over to listen for a noise?”  He sounded like he had a sleepy smile in his voice.  “You’re scared?”

“Go back to bed, Fitz!”

“Nope, I’m coming over to check out the scary noise.”  She made an indignant sound, and his smile was more obvious now.  “I’ll be there in five.  Put on the kettle.”

Jemma threw back the covers and turned on her bedside lamp.  She walked into the living room and kitchen, filling the kettle with water and muttering about how embarrassing it was to need someone to check her apartment for what was causing a scary noise.  Maybe being scared was just an excuse to call Fitz in the first place, but thinking about that was almost as embarrassing as why she actually did call him.  When the kettle was on the stove, she went into the bathroom, making sure she didn’t look too disheveled.  She considered changing out of her pajamas, but she figured it would look stupid to be in real clothes when he knew she was trying to sleep.  Her red flannel pajamas weren’t too bad.  They weren’t her black silk teddy, but she surmised she didn’t need to embarrass herself any more than she already had.  It wasn’t like she was trying to seduce him.  She didn’t need lingerie for that anyways, though.  Guys had oftentimes been into her, but not like Fitz.  The way he got distracted when they were close was extremely flattering.  And it helped that she could compare being with him to fireworks.  She was certainly right about his hands when she first saw him.  They made excellent coffee, could build practically anything, and were extremely reliable for an earth shattering orgasm.

She was walking back into the kitchen to get mugs when she heard his knock.  She opened the door and gave him a half smile.  He looked absolutely adorable in his pajama pants and a grey wool coat, with that stupid beanie on his head.  He smiled as she stepped away to let him inside.  He gave her a quick peck.  “So, this noise?”

She covered her face with her hands.  “I shouldn’t have called you.  It’s no big deal.”

“No, no, I want to help.”  He started taking off his coat and hat.  He was wearing a tight-ish white t shirt that made her insides feel like jelly.

“It’s, um, it’s in the wall behind my bed.  You can go listen while I make the tea.”  She tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb soothingly against her palm.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, Jemma.”  He had a small smile on his face.  “We all have our quirks.  I have to make someone else get rid of bugs for me.”

She smiled up at him.  “You’re afraid of bugs?”

“Terrified.”  He kissed her forehead before making his way into her bedroom, leaving her with the overwhelming urge to follow him in, but the kettle was beginning to whistle.  She made their tea slowly, contemplating all the factors that had to be in play for her to meet such an amazing man, and for him to like her back even half as much.  Thank goodness for broken heaters and MCATS and English major hats and Indian restaurants.  She picked up the two mugs and padded through the living room into her bedroom.  Fitz was lying in the middle of her bed, hands behind his head, eyes closed, with a stupid smile on his face.  “I figured out the noise.”

She walked closer to the bed.  “And?”

“It’s air pressure in the water pipes.”  He sat up and accepted the mug she was holding out for him.

She sat on the edge of the bed.  “Well, now I feel stupid and embarrassed.

He scooted closer to her and laced his fingers with hers.  “Don’t.  I’m going to fill out a TMA request for them to fix it, and it honestly is a very creepy noise.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder.  “I’m sorry I woke you up when you have lab in about five hours.”

“I’ll forgive you if you invite me to spend the night.”  His voice was very blase.

She picked her head up to look at him.  “You want to sleep here?”

“If you want me to.” He took a sip of his tea.  “We’ve never actually spent the night together.”

“I know, I mean, sure, of course you can sleep here.”  She tried to hide her blush.

“Thank you.”  He took her mug from her hand and placed both on the bedside table, leaning away.  When he straightened back up, he cupped a hand against her cheek, bringing her face toward him to kiss her softly.  She smiled against him, resting a hand on his chest over the very thin cotton that she now knew he slept in.  

“You have lab in five hours,” she whispered when his mouth moved down to her neck.

“I don’t care.  You invited me to sleep over.”

She smiled, lacing fingers through his hair and shifting more onto his lap, deepening the kiss.

When Jemma woke up the next morning, Fitz’s voice was thick and sleepy, his hair was sticking out in all different directions, and he had a pillow imprint on his cheek.  Her flannel pajamas were on the floor.  She heard the noise again, but she just cuddled closer to him and quietly promised to get rid of any and all bugs he ever saw.

**Author's Note:**

> I was eating candy corn while writing this, maybe that's why it's too sickly sweet. But really, I just need fluff after last week's episode. Let me know what you think below :)


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